Asmodeus watched as Lea closed her eyes and relaxed, her muscles growing slack inch by inch as Solomon coached her under.  Solomon leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, for all appearances focused on the girl, his voice low and even.  

He wanted to grab her and run, find another bolthole where the old mage wouldn't be able to track them.  Now that he knew how he'd been found, he was certain he could cloak himself better, make them impossible to find.  The chance to prove he'd found Onei, though...  He forced his expression to stay neutral.  One slip, one spark of hope on his face, and that wily old king would see it, and if anyone knew how to make a sliver of knowledge into a sword to use against an enemy, it was Solomon the Wise.  

That left the question of what to do with Solomon after he'd confirmed Lea's identity.  If he confirmed it.

Silence filled the room, drawing Asmodeus's attention back to the pair.  Lea had slid down to the floor, legs crossed.  She was leaning against the couch, her head falling forward as if sound asleep.  A simple gold circle surrounded her, the edge disappearing under the couch behind her, casting a small glow in the shadow underneath.  As he watched, a gold triangle faded into view, each point touching the circle.

"You're putting her in a triangle?"

Solomon looked up.  "You wanted to know who she is."

"Yes, but..."  Asmodeus shifted his weight, looking down at Lea.  She seemed so small, curled up like that.

"I won't hurt her," Solomon said, smiling up at the demon.  Asmodeus frowned back at him, a glint of gold flashing in his eyes.  He shifted the frown back to the girl.  Solomon followed his gaze, wondering why the demon was so agitated.  Who was he expecting?

A possible answer flashed through his mind.  His breath caught for a split second before he steadied himself.  Interesting.  If his guess were true...  But first, calm his host before he got too nervous.  Asmodeus had a way of destroying everything around him when he felt threatened, and Solomon had preserved several lives, either by defusing the demon's agitation, or getting as far away as possible before he went off.  Given the wards he was currently under, though, he didn't place his chances of escape particularly high at all.  

"Ba'alashmedai."  Though he barely whispered the name, Asmodeus's attention snapped to him as if he'd been struck.  "I swear I will not use my knowledge of her to cause her harm."  

Asmodeus nodded.  The gold glint in his eyes faded to an ember, then disappeared.  "Your life is forfeit if I find you have in any way betrayed her."

Solomon nodded.  "You have my word."

With that, Asmodeus's attention returned to the girl.  Solomon breathed a small sigh of relief, then returned his focus on the amber.  Now that he had an idea of who the girl might be, the task before him was much simpler.  He would still work the triangle from the start, as if he had no idea who he was working with.  Solomon supposed he also wanted to check himself; it was better to be careful than act on an assumption, especially where Asmodeus and his own were concerned.

Where would a good inroad start?  There was the girl's allegiances, and Asmodeus's claim.  That would give him an excuse to start immediately with beings associated with the kingdom of Golachab.  He glanced at his watch, noting the hour.  He had fifteen minutes before the hour of the sun, enough time to set in place the preparations he'd need for the later stages.  A shame it wasn't two days and an hour later; Golachab's energy would be most potent then, making it much easier to weave together the energy around him.  

He'd worked under worse conditions.  Asmodeus had personally seen to that several times.

The minutes ticked by as Solomon laid the foundations for the seal.  There were several points that formed the basis of all the sigils keyed to Golachab, but the formation was precise enough that one tiny deviation would cause the whole design to collapse into useless garbage.  The design was finicky enough that he took his time with the groundwork, confident enough in his abilities that the time constraint wasn't much of a pressure.  Even so, Solomon glanced at his watch once more, even though the spell itself kept time for him; it fell neatly into place as the hour changed, setting new lines twining through the triangle, branching out and scribing changes to the circle around it.  He inspected it, then nodded in satisfaction.  

He stood and walked to the edge of the circle, his shoes just past the edge of the furthest curl of script.  He held out his hands, feeling the shape of the seal beneath them, then pressed in with his mind.  The amber moved through the air as if conducting a slow chorus, painting new curls and arcs of energy, which then drifted down like falling leaves.  As the network of lines grew, Lea sat straighter.  In the doorway, Asmodeus straightened as well.  Solomon wondered if he noticed he had shifted his posture with the girl.  He might be reading the triangle, which had so far confirmed her high rank in the kingdom.  If she wasn't Onei, she was very close.

Even if the girl were Onei, which the triangle seemed to be confirming, Asmodeus's reaction was curious.  What had happened to the Haruspex?  Asmodeus's tension regarding the girl, and his reaction to what the spell was revealing, seemed a little out of balance for merely finding the Haruspex once more.  Unless... unless Asmodeus already had a plan for his oracle.  Solomon swallowed.  He rather hoped Asmodeus didn't intend for the Haruspex to use him.  No... there was an entire world of entrails out there that Asmodeus would be delighted to provide as an alternative to Solomon's.  Knowing the demon, he likely already had someone's entrails in mind.

The circle seemed to writhe at the suggestion.  Solomon watched, curious, as the lines adjusted themselves without his prompting.  He frowned as they settled.  The pattern didn't quite match anyone-- He yelped and jumped back as they flared to life again, twisting into a final knot of design. He looked up at the girl, and took a step back as his eyes met her.

"Onei," he said, dropping to his knees, his gaze focused on the floor in front of him.  He heard Lea shift, rising to her feet, and then her voice cut through the silence.

"You were right, Solomon.  I remember everything."  Her voice sounded tight.  Solomon looked up, surprised to see her young face twisted into a grimace.  His chest froze at her words.  "For worse, it seems."

Asmodeus had straightened, his arms at his sides, as if standing at attention.  "Are you alright?"

The girl looked at him, then down at her feet.  "No.  No, I don't think so."  She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.  She traced an arc in the seal with her toe, then gave a short, hollow laugh.  "Look at this, Asmo.  I've gone and died.  Guess I was right after all."

"You always are, Haruspex."  Asmodeus's lips twitched in a sad smile.  

Lea raised an eyebrow in return.  "I was wrong on at least one count, Ba'al.  It would seem that the world is still here."

"You meant that literally?"  

Solomon chuckled at Asmodeus's surprise, then rose to his feet with a small groan.  "Onei, is Lea still within you?"

"Lea?"  She frowned.  "I've never..."  Her voice trailed off as her face went slack with surprise.  "Oh.  Oh no."  She glanced up at Asmodeus, then waved her hands in front of her.  "No, no!  She's still here, she's just asleep.  I..."  She grimaced, looking away.  "From what I can see of Lea's memories, it might not be a good idea to have both of us awake at the same time."

Solomon scratched his beard.  "I don't see how we couldn't.  Whatever Asmodeus has up his cloak, he needs both of them."  He smiled at Asmodeus's sideways glare.  "He wouldn't have been so concerned about Lea if he didn't."

"I promised I'd keep Lea safe until I took her to Seattle."

Solomon snorted.  "And then what?"

Asmodeus shrugged.  "I'll deal with that when the time comes."  He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Onei.  "What?"

The girl stared back at him, mirroring his stance.  "I should warn her about you.  You get protective, and when you do, you're harder to remove than brain cancer."

Solomon's forehead wrinkled.  "You can talk to her?"

Onei shook her head.  "Not quite.  It's like she's dreaming me, and I can talk to her that way, but... none of this is going to really stick."  She frowned, biting her lip.  "I could make memories stick for her, but it would take a lot of push."  She blinked, then grinned.  "Asmodeus, I don't think you want to leave her asleep."

"Oh?"

"Call it a hunch, but I think you'd prefer having her awake."  She crossed her arms, bouncing on her feet.  "Unless you want me to be certain."  Her eyebrow lifted in question.

"No, that's quite alright," Solomon said, palming the amber once more.  

Onei nodded, then lowered herself back to the ground and crossed her legs.  "Tell Lea to find her sister."

Asmodeus frowned.  "Her sister?  Why?"

Onei stared at him.  "How the hell should I know?  All I've got is educated guesses at this point."  She crossed her arms and glared.  "Next time you get any bright ideas about asking questions, Asmoday, at least remember to bring along a spare warm body, or I might get the idea I have to find one and something tells me you'd like that even less now."

Asmodeus's eye twitched.  "Noted."

She stared at him a moment longer, then looked at Solomon and rolled her eyes.  "Switch us out, old man, before the other one in here finishes waking up on her own.  I'm having a hard enough time keeping her down--"  She flinched.  "Hurry, mage.  I don't want to be a fourteen year old."

Solomon raised his hands as Onei flinched and hissed.  The amber traced new lines through the air, but they faded as they neared the seal.  He looked at the lines lining the floor beneath her, then sighed.  "We lost too much time in chatter.  Cover your ears, Asmodeus.  We're about to find out if Lea can handle a Merge."